Written by

Joey Garrison

The Tennessean

Some of Nashville’s most expensive private schools would likely decline participating in a state voucher program if the Tennessee General Assembly were to adopt one, while officials at schools with lower tuition rates, often Christian-affiliated, are enthusiastic about the concept.

Other leaders of independent schools in the Nashville area are taking a wait-and-see approach in advance of a legislative session in which a state voucher proposal figures to be one of the most fiercely debated education issues. The key question for many is whether they would have to implement the same type of annual testing as public schools to take part in a voucher system.

All are closely watching what would be a first in Tennessee: diverting public education funds to private institutions.

Bradford Gioia, president of Montgomery Bell Academy, said he supports school choice in principle but that he’s not convinced a voucher program would be in the best interest of independent schools.

“The amount of money is very small relative to the tuitions,” Gioia said. “It might benefit some of the particular private Christian schools that have developed that are hungry for students, that haven’t had the advantages of strong enrollments.

“I’m not sure politically it’s the smartest choice right now,” he added.

MBA has an annual tuition of $21,250, while voucher supporters have discussed a funding formula that would deliver $8,100 for students in Davidson County. A Gov. Bill Haslam-appointed voucher task force has recommended private schools participating in a program accept vouchers “in full” as opposed to charging full tuitions. “That would be hard for a lot of us to do,” Gioia said.

The head of the University School of Nashville, which has a tuition of $19,250 for its high school, also is hesitant about taking part in a voucher program given the school’s existing demand — and even questions the benefits of the program as a whole.

“We would be very reluctant to support any measure that sapped funding for public education, and past that, vouchers do not create more room at those independent schools already at capacity with regard to enrollment,” USN Director Vince Durnan said.

Plenty of private school leaders in Nashville, conversely, embrace the voucher concept. And as one might expect, schools with price tags closer or below the voucher — or what proponents call “opportunity scholarships” — appear more likely to sign on.

“We’d be interested in taking part in a state voucher program,” said Brian Sweatt, school administrator at Lighthouse Christian School, a school in Antioch that has a tuition of $4,995. “One of the things we try to do at Lighthouse Christian School is to make the private Christian school education available for anybody in the community who desires it. And that would include those who sometimes struggle financially.

“We have one of the best tuition rates available,” he said, adding that expanding the number of students who could attend would match its mission.

In a final report released last month, the governor’s voucher task force included results from two surveys to gauge the perspectives of private school administrators. But with response rates of only 36 percent and 39 percent, results were perhaps inconclusive.

The Tennessean conducted its own interviews with private school officials, admittedly a small sample size as well, and found a range of opinions. As a whole, the early take on vouchers from Nashville’s private school community reflects the experiences of other states on the types of schools that would take part.

Though legislation isn’t finalized, state Sen. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who has sponsored previously stalled voucher bills, has suggested the funding formula used for charter schools apply to vouchers, with per-pupil state and local dollars following the student. Under this scenario, Davidson County’s voucher would be $8,100. The report itself noted a “range of opinions” on how to fund vouchers.

The task force agreed low-income students should be the beneficiaries of a voucher program, perhaps only those zoned for low-performing schools, which would make Memphis and Nashville the hotbeds of voucher participation.

“It’s an interesting opportunity for a lot of folks,” said Ricky Perry, president of Goodpasture Christian School, who attended some of the task force’s meetings over the past year.

Still weighing the pros and cons of vouchers, Perry said he believes there’s a way to craft a system in a way in which Goodpasture would participate. The Madison-area institution’s tuition is about $8,200, on par with the potential voucher amount.

“It gives children who do not have the best educational options at least another option, and it kind of removes a lot of the financial burden by letting the parents take the money … and apply it to a school setting where they may feel their child may get a better educational experience,” Perry said.

Accountability

Defining an accountability system for private schools is critical, according to Haslam’s voucher report, but it didn’t recommend a method. Possibilities include setting up eligibility requirements for private schools on the front end — the use of accreditation systems, for example — and on the back end by administering state or other national assessments selected by the private schools.

For many private schools, the question of adopting state assessments is central to whether it would participate.

Only 16 percent of private schools in Tennessee administer TCAP tests. And only 42 percent of surveyed schools in the task force report said they “would or likely would” participate in a program that required TCAP testing.

“There’s a lot of questions because not every private school participates in the same testing program as the public schools,” said Keith Singer, headmaster at Donelson Christian Academy, who supports the purpose of vouchers to expand opportunities but would be wary of a program that “fundamentally changes” DCA’s approach to education. Its tuition ranges from $8,495 to $9,494 depending on grade level.

“I wouldn’t say it’s an absolute non-starter,” he said of adopting the state’s tests, “but there’s obviously some difficulties with that.”

Despite its $21,655 tuition for high school, Ensworth School’s Head of School David Braemer didn’t rule out participating in a voucher program, pointing to the school’s “tremendous amount” of need-based financial aid to make up the difference. Yet like others, he said the biggest question is whether state testing would be a mandate.

“Whatever those stipulations are would shape whether or not we would be comfortable,” he said, adding that the value of private schools is the autonomy to make its own decisions. “It really comes down to what strings are attached to accepting money from the state.”

Religious affiliation

Lighthouse Christian, Goodpasture and Donelson Christian all have a religious focus.

And if a voucher system in Tennessee were to appeal predominantly to religious private institutions, it wouldn’t be unusual. Of the private schools participating in Indiana’s 2011 voucher program, 97 percent are religiously affiliated. There, critics have challenged its constitutionality, including the use of taxpayer dollars going toward religious institutions, a matter to be decided by its state supreme court.

A decade ago, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Zelman vs. Simmons-Harris decision upheld a voucher program in Ohio in which religious and parochial schools participated. In effect, justices found the state to be delivering funds to parents who then could choose where to send their children.

William Slater, headmaster at Hendersonville Christian Academy, is interested in opting his school into a voucher program and says he’s not surprised many, if not most, of its backers in Tennessee are from religious schools.

“In other states, where there have been opportunity scholarships and vouchers — whichever you want to call it — that’s been the case,” he said. “The church-related schools, Catholic schools typically are the ones that are more inclined to be involved.”

Nevertheless, even some religious schools are still waiting on the details.

Rick Musacchio, communications director of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Nashville, which oversees Father Ryan High School and several other area Catholic schools, said its schools would be interested in a program but noted the “many variables” in play right now.

“There’s some potential that vouchers could be helpful to our schools, but since there is no actual language, we’re not able to really take a position on it at this point,” he said.